Matthew 14:22-33 has always been one of my favorite passages of scripture, but this week, I was able to take away a new truth.

The passage read: 22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

29"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

The passage tells the familiar story of Peter walking on water toward Jesus in the middle of a storm after questioning if what he was seeing out on the lake was actually the Son of God.

We find Peter first doubting that what he was seeing was reality, then having full faith in Jesus and then crying out for help after being distracted by his surroundings.

If I was put in the same position as Peter, I really don't think that I would step out of the boat. More than likely, I would have been seasick in the corner, frantic at the idea of a ghost approaching the boat in the middle of a storm.

Greating the vistor in question and offering him to call me into the water with him would have been the last thing on my mind.

But when Jesus rebukes Peter for his lack of faith, I finally realized that that Peter never doubted it was, in fact, Jesus on the lake, but became distracted by what was going on around him, and that was when he began to sink.

Peter was doubting himself. He had enough faith in Jesus to get out of the boat in the first place but it was after he got into the middle of the storm that he began to sink.

He lost faith in his ability to stay the course and found himself drowing in his enviorment, left crying for Jesus who was standing right above him.

How often do we find ourselves in this place? We plunge into the unknown, in full of faith that God is in the middle of our situation and once we get in the thick of things, we begin to sink because we loose faith in our ability to continue to trust.

How amazing is it that God has faith in us! Jesus believed in Peter and knew that with faith, he could come out to him on the water.

FINAL THOUGHT: This week, instead of focusing on your inadequacys and shortfalls, I would encourage you to focus on the fact that Christ does not ask us to have faith in him without him having faith in us.